Investigation of the Relationship between University Students' Perception of Coping with Trauma and Self-Compassion and Life Stress by Mixed Method

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between university students' perception of coping with trauma and their self-compassion and life stress levels. In the quantitative part of the study, data obtained from 754 students studying at different universities and departments in Turkey at undergraduate, graduate and Phd levels were used. The Perception of Coping with Trauma Scale, the Self-Compassion Scale, and the Updated Student Life Stress Inventory were used as data collection tools. Descriptive statistics, t-test, Pearson correlation analysis, stepwise regression analysis were used in data analysis. In the qualitative part of the study, the phenomenology method was used. The qualitative study group consists of 11 university students. A semi-structured interview form prepared by the researcher was used. Qualitative research data were analyzed by content analysis. In this study, a positive significant relationship was found between the perception of coping with trauma and self-compassion scale scores, a negative significant relationship between the perception of coping with trauma and life stress scores, and a negative significant relationship between self-compassion and life stress scores. In this study, Perceived Ability to Cope with Trauma (PACT) and Self-Compassion do not differ according to gender. Life Stress is significantly higher in female students than male students. Consciousness sub-dimension of self compassion significantly predicted perception of coping with trauma. In this research, 2 themes were determined, namely passive coping and active coping, among the views on post-traumatic self-judgment. Passive coping consists of 2 categories. These are: "Getting Out of Focus" and "Leaving it to Time". Active coping theme also consists of 2 categories. These are: "New Decisions" and "Rational Thinking".

Keywords

• Trauma
• Coping with Trauma
• Self-Compassion
• Life Stress
• PACT

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